Swapped Fates
by AnOddFan
Summary: What if Antauri hadn't sacrificed himself in I, Chiro? What if it was Chiro? This is a retelling of Season 3 with a twist. SPRX-77/Nova, Nova/Chiro, Chiro/Jinmay. Please respect my awkward and dry sense of humor, as it forces its way up several times! For better view of cover, head to my deviant art account under the same name! AUTHOR'S NOTE POSTED ON 10/5/12, GOING ON HIATUS
1. Selfless Sacrifice

**Okay, so the first two chapters cover the ending of "I, Chiro" and the events of both parts of "Savage Lands". The second chappy is twice as long as the first, for reasons unknown. I tried to not go directly off of the episodes, but you can't always be perfect. Some lines are taken directly from the show, some are my own. Enjoy!**

* * *

Chiro stood on the platform with the rest of the Monkey Team. Skeleton King's body hovered over the pit, tethered to the Dark One like some demented puppet. He had already forced Antauri to his knees. The boy's mind did an analysis of the situation.

_'Despite everything we've tried, the Dark One has already hatched,'_ He thought_, 'The Super Robot is on its last legs and Antauri is badly damaged. Not to mention, the Power Primate is all but completely gone...'_ He then heard Antauri's words from before, _'Is it really gone, Chiro?'_ Then the Skeleton King's words_, 'Some benevolent cosmic force chose YOU to protect this Universe...'_ Was this it? Benevolent forces usually seemed to be vague on the details of when to actually _protect_ something. Maybe this was what he needed to do. If there was some small shred of the Power Primate, he could possibly do it...

Chiro began to step forward, his mind set on his next action. He tried to call the Power Primate around him as he walked, and it didn't seem to work... Then, a light began to form around his body as he pulled in more and more energy. He was becoming one with the energy, trusting himself with the energy, trusting the energy with himself.

"Chiro?" Sprx asked, "Chiro what are you..." The human stepped off the edge, falling to the pit below. As he fell, he heard the cries of the monkeys above him, even Antauri's hand just grazing him in an attempt to catch him. He continued pulling in energy, however. Even if it burned his body to a crisp, he would keep pulling it in...

Impact. He landed in the dark fluid of the egg, finding that he could only sink. He then put the next step into action, letting all the energy out, feeling something he never had before. It was as if the energy didn't want to leave. It was acting on its own, understanding what had to truly be done. That was the last time that Chiro felt anything for quite a while...

* * *

The five robot monkeys stared at where Chiro had stood only moments ago, mouths agape. Even the Skeleton King -or what was left of him- seemed confused. Only Antauri understood what he had done, but the boy wasn't ready for such an act! Was he?

Nova slowly approached the edge again, not even coming close to the speed she had sprinted at to try and save Chiro. _'Why would he do that?'_ She thought, tears coming to her eyes, _'Why would just... jump?' _Her confusion was shared with three of her four brothers.

"That's... completely illogical..." Gibson muttered, "Why did he... Chiro..."

"I can't believe this..." Sprx murmured, "This can't be true. It can't, Chiro can't be..." His words died as a bright flash emanated from the pit. An orb, one that Chiro would make for his Monkey Fu attack, seemed to float out of the pit at a speed that none of the monkeys would have expected. It seemed to hone in on Antauri, flying straight through him. An energy discharge occurred and the wise monkey began to act "odd," as Gibson would later put it. The orb continued on to the Super Robot, entering the gash on its front. The Robot was surrounded by a green aura and began to move on its own.

"Uh..." Otto pointed to their giant robot, "Who's driving the Robot?"

The massive machine began to walk over to the far wall of the hole Skeleton King's ship had dug, to the edge of the crack. When there, it put its hands on the shell, releasing the energy onto the shell, making it seal at a very slow pace.

At this moment, Antauri had leaped at Skeleton King's body, claws drawn. He landed and began slashing as if, not to sound cliché or obvious, he were an animal. He didn't seem to care how deep he cut, as he only did minor damage to the being formerly known as The Alchemist. His deepest cut was when the egg was nearly sealed.

The shell was slowly decapitating the Dark One, and its head was still moving up. Antauri was tearing at the body, ignoring the head. For reasons unknown, he cut specifically at the neck, completely removing the body from the head of Skeleton King. He tossed the body into the closing egg shell below.

With the egg sealed, the Super Robot shut down. The energy then seemed to disappear. The four simian spectators just stared, wondering what had happened in that little of time. They then looked at Antauri, never having seen him act in such a fierce fashion. He was facing the egg, as if staring. Nova carefully approached him.

"A-Antauri?" She asked, not knowing what to expect. She touched his shoulder. Before she could speak, he claws came out and he slashed towards her. She jumped back, just in the nick of time. Tears came to her eyes, "Antauri... What's wrong with you?"

"Nova..." Gibson whispered, "Look at his eyes..."

She did this and gasped. The black monkey's green eyes were blank. Just blank. As if there was no power in them at all. How could he even be alive if...

Antauri made a sound similar to a growl. He didn't even sound like himself. He then ran from the group, scaling the wall of the crater in record time. He continued running, as if driven by some deep, primal instinct.

Now the monkeys stood there, in the middle of the crater. They had lost two members of their group today... One was undoubtedly gone for good, and the other had seemed to have lost his mind. They then began repairs on the Robot, wondering if they should go after Antauri or not. By the time the Robot would be finished, it would have been too late anyway...

* * *

In truth, Antauri didn't know where he was, who he was, or where he was headed. His consciousness was locked deep inside his mind, somewhere around the heavily damaged portion of his CPU, around a slightly damaged portion of his brain. Every now and then, his eyes would flicker on and the Antauri locked inside could see something. But it was only glimpses. Later, his memories would be so fragmented that he would pass them off as some form of dream.

Currently, his body was sprinting through the desert, entering a dark forest that transitioned into a cave deeper in. His eyes flickered as he approached a cliff face overlooking a massive jungle. The whole place was underground, but the cave ceiling was so high that there was something like an atmosphere below it.

_'This looks... familiar...'_ He thought_, 'Could it be...?'_

In truth, though he would have expected the Power Primate to be guiding him, an old program was activated when that discharge occurred. It was one that the Alchemist was thought to have removed with the mind wipe. In the event of devastating damage that was not repairable by conventional means, the body was to suppress the conscious mind and return Home. It was a simple program that only included the coordinates of "Home" and a prerecorded path, no memories were to be formed from the trip. It was used in the early days of the team, before the Alchemist had met his unavoidable fate.

Antauri's body moved through the jungle with a swiftness he didn't think possible. He avoided several obstacles including man-eating plants, giant serpents, giant spiders, and some form of creature that resembled an animal-like Formless, though it didn't turn to goop when Antauri slashed it in two. At one point during all of this, his consciousness gained just enough control to activate his transmitter, but he didn't think he could get a signal out through the cave ceiling. Eventually, he reached what looked like a massive building in a clearing. It was... a lab. He entered the building, his eyes flickering once more.

He wished to see more of his old home than what the Skeleton King had shown him and his fellow monkeys, but his body wouldn't grant him that. He receded into himself, knowing that it was pointless. For a reason unknown to him, his body had taken control of itself and came here. He wouldn't gain control until his body was done with whatever it was doing.

He decided to meditate, focusing on the Power Primate (or what was left of it). It was then that he found some form of hope, but not as much for himself as for Chiro. He came across another being, another soul, clinging to his own for dear existence. If he could only reach out and connect with it...

_'Who are you?'_ He asked the being in a calm tone.

There was no response.

_'Chiro?'_ Now he was hoping for a reply, but none came.

_'Is that you, Chiro?'_ He dearly wished it to be his friend, his apprentice. The boy was almost like a son to him...

_'Please,'_ He pleaded, but not in so much in a begging tone_, "If you are Chiro. Just send me a sign. Anything. I can understand if you are too weak to speak... But please... Chiro, just let me know it's you.'_ He waited.

As Antauri's mind waited for a response, his body was making its way to an open tank in the lab. It took a meditative position and hovered a couple feet over the ground. Several robotic arms seemed to come from the ceiling and surrounded the small cyborg simian. One arm scanned him, searching for severe damage. It located the nearly irreparable damage to his brain and began sending signals to the other arms of what would be needed to restore him to a perfect functionality, as we as some upgrades that had been planned once before. The process would take only minutes...

* * *

The Super Robot was nearly completely repaired, thanks to the depressed team of monkeys. Their mood just got worse when Jinmay appeared, asking if Chiro was alright. Nova couldn't stop crying after hearing the question. She may have been tough, but what Chiro did was totally unexpected and unnecessary... To her, it was like losing a little brother. Sprx was busy comforting Nova. Gibson, not wanting to break the news to the android (plus he may have been somewhat emotionally compromised as well), claimed that he needed to recalibrate the Robot's power system. Jinmay didn't question why he ran to the elevator to his room, and not the power level. In the end, it was Otto who was forced to inform Jinmay of Chiro's fate. He couldn't come up with an excuse.

"Well..." He tried to think of a way to explain it, "You see... Skeleton King had us in a pretty tight spot... No, no... Uh..."

"C'mon, Otto," She pleaded, "You can tell me." She was shaking, as if she had already guessed.

"Chiro's..." The green monkey couldn't think of a lighter way to put it, "He's gone..."

The robotic girl tensed up, "Wh-what?"

"He..." Otto then shook his head, turning back to Sprx and Nova, "Guys, could I get some help here? I don't really know how to explain this to her."

Sprx patted Nova's shoulder, then walked over to Otto and Jinmay.

"Chiro sacrificed himself to save us and Shuggazoom," The red monkey explained, "He basically used the Power Primate to seal the Dark One away, though I think he may have killed it. His body was most likely destroyed in the process. Nothing could have survived that much energy concentrated on one spot. After the battle, Antauri went nuts, tried to attack Nova, and ran off."

Jinmay just sat in a chair. Though she herself was a robot, she felt as if her legs couldn't hold her. She had a feeling in the pit of her stomach, similar to when she discovered that she was made by the Skeleton King. It was grief, fear, pain. She felt like she was going to be sick...

Time seemed to pass by at a slow pace, seconds to minutes, minutes to hours. They didn't know how long it had been since the battle had ended, since Chiro was gone, since Antauri disappeared. The time was just as immeasurable for Jinmay, silently weeping in the Robot. Everyone had finally decided to return to their posts. Though the Skeleton King was gone, there was still danger to be had. They were still the Monkey Team. They just lacked two key members.

They only had one goal in mind at the moment, however: Find Antauri. Otto was scanning for him, hoping to find their wise leader and, if possible, repair him. Eventually he received a ping. It only lasted for a couple seconds, but Gibson was able to get a trace on it. Antauri was injured and confused. He needed immediate help.

"Did you find him?" Sprx asked, walking up to the green and blue monkeys.

"Yes," Gibson answered, "We have a trace."

"Well then what're we waiting for?" Sprx asked.

"Oh, right," Gibson said before he and Sprx both shouted, "Monkeys Mobilize!"

"Excuse me?" Gibson asked the red.

"Well," Sprx shrugged, "I just thought that, with Chiro and Antauri gone, I should be leader."

"What makes you think you're a suitable substitute?" The genius asked, "I should be leader, what with my quick wit and high intelligence."

"Leader's don't care about intelligence!" Sprx argued, "They're all about instinct! Which I happen to be full of-"

"Are you two gonna talk all day?" Nova asked, pushing them apart, "Or are you gonna do something?"

They went silent.

"Now," Nova said seriously, "Monkeys Mobilize!"

She and Otto approached their respective elevators, leaving Gibson, Sprx, and Jinmay alone in the room. The girl just put a seat belt on. Gibson and Sprx looked away from each other.

"I'm driving!" Sprx said.

* * *

That was it! Antauri found a sign that it was Chiro. The... thing that was latched to him with the Power Primate was Chiro! It was small, but he knew it was him. The forced memory of the Maze made that obvious. Somehow, Chiro had managed to preserve himself with the Power Primate. The boy's control of it was magnificent, if not paranormal...

_'What would you have me do, Chiro?'_ He asked the boy's soul_, 'We cannot remain merged forever. I am afraid that your body has been forever lost, if not destroyed by your own actions.'_

He couldn't tell if Chiro was responding or not. The boy was still too weak to even consider that...

Antauri's eyes opened. He blinked, noting that he was in a lab. It was the same one the Skeleton King had shown him and the other monkeys. His true home... Being covered in heavy coatings of dust, it looked much older than the false one. He found that the pain that had hindered him before his blackout was gone. He touched the back of his head, finding that the data port was now intact again. But Mandarin's blade had destroyed more than that... How was he alive?

The black monkey stood up, his feet touching the ground. He then remembered the presence in his soul. Chiro... He looked around for something, anything that could help his best friend, his apprentice's situation. As he looked, he gained a better view of the lab. There were six empty tanks lining the wall by the door. In the center of the room, which was huge, was a large platform with one tank on it. Curious, Antauri went up the stairs leading to it.

He reached the top and looked at the tank. It appeared to be active. Could there... be another monkey? He rubbed the dust away, finding only a metallic skull and spine. He didn't even know how he would begin to use this to help Chiro. Then, a computer screen behind him turned on, revealing a familiar face: The Alchemist.

"The Silver Monkey..." He sighed, "The pinnacle of my robot warrior evolution... The _perfect_ fighting machine, but ultimately... a _failure!_ For, the battle against the Evil Undead requires _more_ than just metal parts and computer circuits... It DEMANDS _living energy_! The unleashed Power of the Primate!" It was a video log.

Antauri noticed a panel slide up to reveal a set of metal parts for constructing a Robot Monkey. Could he...? No, Chiro wouldn't want that! Would he? He had to think. If only Chiro could speak to him somehow...

That was it! He just needed to meditate and reach through to Chiro. If he can give him enough energy, then maybe they could communicate.

He quickly entered a sitting position, levitating off the ground. He searched deeply until he found Chiro. His being had seemed to have grown somewhat. Other than that, he was completely silent.

_'Chiro,'_ Antauri spoke_, 'You must be aware of my choice. There may be another way, but...'_ He stopped as he found that his friend would not give him an answer. After some deep thought, he came to a conclusion. Chiro may not like it, but he wouldn't have liked the only other option, either...

* * *

Jinmay had stayed behind with the Super Robot, standing outside the forest/cave. The Monkey Team was currently deep into the hidden jungle, still surprised of the place's existence under the surface. Gibson carried a tracker, following Antauri's signal. Sprx had been trying to take the tracker from him the entire mission, claiming that the leader should be the one to track. They finally reached the clearing with the lab. Cautiously, they entered.

"I remember this place from our nightmare..." Sprx pointed out, "It's the lab where we were created."

Noting that this was true, they continued on inside. They didn't seem to notice that they were being followed by natives...

They came to the large room, the main laboratory. They then heard an odd sound from the tall raised structure in the center. The Monkey Team ran up the stairs and stopped when they saw Antauri doing something they would have never expected...


	2. Revival & Rescue

Gibson, Otto, Nova, and Sprx stared at Antauri as he pulled the lever next to a tube containing a metallic skeleton. The container opened and robotic arms began to build something. After a few seconds, it became obvious what it was.

"Is he building... another monkey?" Nova asked in awe.

"Whoa..." Otto watched the machines work with such speed and precision, "What I would give to be able to work as fast as them..."

The building was done in practically no time at all and the monkey was placed on a table, completely lifeless. The team looked up at Antauri, who was going to pick up the new robot. They found that the black monkey was just fine. In fact, he seemed to be in perfect condition. There was also something different about him...

"Antauri?" Sprx asked, "What gives? We've been worried sick about you!"

"My body was running itself," Antauri explained, "It needed repairs that we could not have done by ourselves. I am still unfamiliar with the repairs I was given, but I am sure that I am perfectly healthy."

"What's with the silver monkey?" Otto asked, pointing to the newly built machine.

"Chiro is not gone," Antauri explained, "When he sacrificed himself, his essence was converted to energy by the Power Primate. When that energy passed through me, his soul grabbed on to mine. I assume that he was not able to control the energy he was turned into, and as such he lost quite a bit of power after stowing away inside my body."

"Wait..." Nova stopped him, "Are you saying that Chiro's... _inside_ you?"

"In a way, yes," The elder monkey nodded, "But he is not physical in any way. I believe that, after learning of this monkey -The Alchemist's final creation- I may be able to give Chiro a vessel to live on inside. However, it will be a long and painful process for me. He is connected to me by some force that I have never encountered before."

"Exactly how long is this going to take?" Gibson asked, "And _must_ we do it in _here_?"

"It will take as long as is necessary," Antauri answered, "And unless you want to carry this empty shell back to the Super Robot, I'd suggest we do this here. Besides, it seems... appropriate."

"I don't think we have as much time as you think, Antauri..." Otto said, looking back towards the entrance to the lab. There were what appeared to be Formless, though they looked like the tribal, hulking equivalent.

"Keep them away from me," Antauri ordered coolly, "I must meditate to begin this process..." He once again entered his meditation form, hovering next to the silver monkey. As the battle began, he tuned out. As he already knew the way, he made it to Chiro's consciousness rather quickly.

_'I am sorry that this is so sudden, Chiro,'_ He apologized while getting a mental grip on the boy_, 'But it must be done here and now. You must come with me to your new body.'_ He pulled, then stopped. This was much harder than he thought. He put a tight grip on Chiro and pulled once again. The boy was holding with all his might. Either he didn't want to go, or he was just stubborn.

Out in reality, the Monkey Team was trying their best to keep the Formless at bay. There seemed to be hundreds of them.

"Magna-Ball Blazer!" Sprx flung a large ball of magnetic energy at one of the creatures, who deflected back at him with ease. The red monkey was sent flying.

"Whirling Destructo Saws!" Otto launched his blades at another one of the monsters, cutting off its arm. The Formless punched him with the force of a small freight train before dissolving to goop.

"Laser Criss Cross!" Gibson fired beams at the Formless, hitting one in the back, but missing the closest. They tossed him against a wall.

"Lady Tomahawk!" Nova pounded on two Formless, destroying them instantly. She then continued to take down two more before she was caught at the bottom of a dog pile.

Though Antauri was meditating, he had since become alert when he discovered that Chiro wouldn't go easily. One Formless dared approach him while he was in this state. It was sliced in half before it came within its own arm's reach of him.

The Monkey Team got back to their feet, Nova performing a wonderful technique of carelessly pummeling every Formless above her. They all proceeded to take down the first wave of Formless.

"Well," Otto smiled, "That was easier than I thought!"

"Speak for yourself..." Nova rubbed her shoulder.

"I don't think that was the last of them..." Sprx muttered.

"Far from it..." Gibson replied as countless enemies filled the room.

Antauri had finally been able to retrieve Chiro's soul. Or, rather, he had _found out_ how to retrieve his soul. He found where Chiro was holding on and simply relocated it. With the Power Primate, it was simple. He now had Chiro's soul, ready to be moved to the new body. Hopefully the team had held those Formless off, as this was the most crucial moment of the process. One slip up and Chiro could-

As he was grabbed by one of the Formless, Antauri watched in horror as he inadvertently let go of Chiro's spirit. The energy dissipated. Chiro was... gone... Now, quite unlike before, Antauri snapped. Even in death, Skeleton King always took away the things he and his fellow monkeys loved! Now, he had gone as far as to kill their best friend. The last and only hope for the Universe!

Antauri activated his claws and performed a technique that none of the monkeys had ever seen before. His arms extended and he began to move in a circle, the claws becoming a deadly cyclone.

"Cyclone Slasher!" He then dubbed the move as he took down close to twenty Formless. It was very impressive, but it still didn't make a dent in the opposition's massive numbers. He then performed the Monkey Mind Scream, taking several down. It was all in vain, however. The Formless knocked him unconscious as they swarmed him. The same happened to the other active monkeys. They bound them in slime from their mouths and tied them to a large bone, for transportation...

* * *

At the Super Robot, Jinmay was wondering where the monkeys were. They had said that they would contact her, but the communicator hadn't gone off yet.

She heard something rustle in the shrubbery nearby. She glanced for just a second, then found herself surrounded by giant Formless. They went to grab her, but she backed away too quickly. They then went to attack her, but her hands began to glow. This made the primitive monsters back up out of suspicion.

"What the...?" Jinmay stared at her hands as, for the first time, they looked like they were made completely of metal. This faded, however, and she appeared human again. She screamed as the Formless grabbed her...

* * *

Back in the lab, now empty, save for the silver monkey that was meant to be Chiro's new body. Without a soul, without living energy, it would just be gathering dust in the abandoned lab that had once belonged to a man who was nothing but a memory, now.

That is, until the eyes flickered...

* * *

Antauri came to... upside down. He, along with the rest of the Monkey Team, was bound in some sort of adhesive goop and hanging from a long bone. They were moving through the jungle, towards some massive ancient pyramid.

"Antauri..." Gibson whispered an implied greeting, "Did it work? Is Chiro going to..." He stopped when he saw Antauri's expression. It was solemn.

"Chiro's gone..." He said, his heart feeling heavy, "I had finally unlatched him from my own soul when the Formless grabbed me and broke my concentration. I watched as Chiro's spirit dissipated into nothing..."

"No..." Sprx's eyes widened.

"Chiro..." Nova whispered sadly.

"This can't be happening..." Otto shook his head slowly.

"He's gone?" Gibson asked, almost disbelievingly, "Just like that?"

"The Power Primate can only do so much," Antauri explained, "I was using all I could just to get a grip of him. There was nothing I could do..."

They were past the halfway point, heading up the pyramid when something odd happened. First, only the monkeys seemed to notice that the guards in the back seemed to spontaneously turn to goop. Second, the guards in the front saw something before turning to goop. Now near the top, the front carrier let the carrying bone down and looked for the source of the chaos. It saw the rear carrier turn to goop, but this time, the assassin was slower. There was a slight gleam as they had moved by.

"What is..." The monkeys looked at where this mystery assassin had stopped moving.

"Impossible..." Gibson muttered.

"Is that...?" Sprx and Nova seemed ask at the same time.

"Yo!" Otto called at the small figure, "Is that you, Chiro?"

Right in front of the lead carrier Formless was a silver robot monkey. Much to the teams fears, however, only one hand's weapon was activated. It was a very familiar weapon, though the color was different: a purple energy blade. The hand was somewhat visible through the glowing energy. His blue orbs didn't move away from his next target.

Without a word, the monkey seemed to disappear. The last Formless shifted with the slash that went straight through it, ending with the monkey from before, completely covered in the purple energy that had originally made his blade. The Formless dissolved to nothing as the monkey returned to its normal form.

The monkey turned to look at the Hyperforce. His look was stern and cold, making his friends believe he wasn't who they thought he was. A smirk began to break through his stern look as he couldn't hold back the laughter. He fell on his back, laughing at the faces on the others, inadvertently letting out gleeful monkey noises. It wasn't the disappointment, but the pure astonishment! Especially with Antauri's face. He hadn't ever seen his face like that before!

"Why's he laughing?" Otto asked, confused.

"Because it's Chiro..." Nova answered, deadpanning, "He shares Sprx's sense of humor."

"You should see your faces!" Chiro managed to gasp out between breaths.

"Well," Gibson said, "You're obviously taking a liking to your new form. Now, would you kindly GET US OUT OF THESE?"

"Yeah." He said, the smile still plastered on his face. He cut their bonds, one by one. Once they were all free, he was suddenly tackled by the five of them in a group hug, including Antauri.

"Okay..." Chiro gasped, "It's good to see you guys too... You're... crushing... me...!"

The rest of the team noticed that they were indeed crushing him. They all got off of him and gave him space.

"How are you alive, Chiro?" Antauri asked, "I saw your spirit dissipate into nothing."

"You had already dragged me to the edge of your mind, Antauri," The boy-turned-robot-monkey smiled, "Honestly, the hardest part was figuring out how to work this thing..." His smile faded as he looked at his new hands, "Though, it would have been nice to have flesh and blood... This body's completely robotic." He shook himself out of it, "So, how long's it been? I haven't been keeping track of time. How's Jinmay?"

"Well..." Otto and Sprx looked ashamed, but it was Sprx who spoke, "We _may_ have told her that you had sacrificed yourself to save the world and that you were dead..."

"You WHAT?" Chiro didn't know if he should be angry or confused, "I mean, I know that I kind of lost my body, there, but that doesn't mean I'm _dead_!"

Gibson rose a finger, "Well, technically-" Nova covered his mouth.

"We're just glad you're back, Chiro!" She smiled widely, holding a struggling Gibson at bay.

"Thanks Nov-" Chiro was cut off by a scream he would remember anywhere, "Jinmay!" Somehow knowing almost exactly where the scream came from, the Monkey Team (now one hundred percent robot monkey) sprinted into the pyramid.

Inside was a wide, long, and dark hallway. Chiro, still getting used to his new height, began to feel somewhat dizzy from the sheer size of the area. He blinked a couple times to get rid of the feeling. They slowed to a walk in the decreased light.

_'Funny,'_ He thought_, 'This body is completely and utterly a machine, but I can still feel dizziness, sickness, pain...'_ His thoughts began to question just how powerful the Alchemist was. If he could make a completely mechanical body experience the same things flesh did... No wonder Skeleton King was so powerful!

"Use caution, team," Antauri warned, "I sense danger everywhere."

"What kinda place is this?" Otto asked.

"Some form of arcane tomb," Gibson observed, "Possibly built thousand of years ago."

As Sprx drifted ahead of the group, Nova noticed something, "Sprx, look out!" Too late. His foot caught the trip wire. Within hundredths of a second, a massive pillar dropped from the ceiling towards the red monkey. Nova, just in the nick of time, pulled him out of the way. Very ungracefully, they toppled over each other, the red monkey over the yellow.

"What happened?" Sprx asked before noticing he was on top of Nova. He gave a meek smile before she smacked him off of her.

"Be careful where you step, team!" Chiro reiterated Antauri's warning, "Don't touch anything." The others nodded and they continued on their way.

Not long after they resumed walking, Sprx now in the back so as not to set off any more trip wires, yet another trap was activated. As though he had a parade of black cats crossing his path, Sprx once again set this trap off. It was a pressure tile. The floor dropped out from under the Hyperforce and they fell into a stone slide, a boulder rolling after them. They reached level ground and began sprinting from the giant ball of rock, only to encounter pendulum axes on the ceilings, they ducked every time one would swing their way. Then, the stereotypical wall darts were fired, causing the team to jump out of the way for several of them. The exit of the tunnel was slowly closing with two crystal doors. The entirety of the team jumped through, but poor Chiro, still getting used to the legs of his new body, was pushed out by the boulder. He was sent flying into a wall of crystal before sliding to the ground below.

The whole team panting, Chiro rubbing his new metal head, found that they were in some kind of cave/tomb. There was a giant platform of crystal in the center of the room. It was shaped like the lower half of a skull, the cheek bones and upper teeth. There was someone sitting at the top of the platform.

She was a human with pale skin and markings on her face similar to that of the Alchemist before he had met his end. She donned a black ceremonial-looking dress. Her hair was long, black, and parted in the back, skull hair clips on the longer parts of her bangs. Her eyes were a dark violet, nearly matching the color of Chiro's new Beam Blade.

She stood up, revealing her form to be somewhat lanky and very thin. Then she spoke in a menacing, yet somewhat seductive tone, "This tomb is the _perfect_ resting place for great warriors such as yourselves. Don't you agree, Hyperforce?"

"Who are you?" Chiro asked, his voice not even close to as demanding as he wanted it to be.

"You may call me Valina, Chiro," She introduced herself in a rather smug fashion (not to mention, surprising the boy with the fact that she knew who he was despite his new body), "I too was once a citizen of Shuggazoom, before certain... _power_ saw me fit to rule this realm."

"What powers?" Chiro asked suspiciously.

Valina made a massive projection appear. It was a very familiar face.

"Skeleton King?" Chiro nearly laughed, "You might as well give up. He's gone. We saw it happen. He was destroyed!"

"You pathetic fools!" Valina sneered, "His soul lives on! Skeleton King was not destroyed... His essence was _fused_ with the unleashed Dark One!" She gave the Hyperforce a view of the Dark One's head regrowing its body and flying to a planet, "Together, they've ravaged the Universe, corrupting worlds like a glorious plague!" The Dark One fired a rainbow-colored blast from its mouth at the planet, turning it from a lush utopia to a barren wasteland.

"No!" Chiro stepped back, "It... It can't be..." He began to feel like his sacrifice was completely in vain.

"And when he gathers enough power," Valina smiled darkly, "He will return to _ravage_ Shuggazoom and free me from this _wretched_ underworld!"

The monkeys activated their weapons, Sprx speaking seriously, "I don't think that's gonna happen."

"Lower your weapons," The sorceress ordered, "Oppose me, and the girl's end will be swift." She motioned towards some guardian Formless that were holding a familiar girl. Jinmay screamed helplessly.

"Jinmay!" Chiro called.

"Goodbye Hyperforce," Valina said with an evil smile as the crystal platform began to rise through a hole in the ceiling, "I leave you with a final gift!"

A bubble of dark energy rose from the pit in the center of the room. It seemed to radiate evil.

Nova shuddered, "What is that?"

"It kinda looks like somethin's... movin' inside it..." Gibson pointed it the orb.

The bubble popped and a large demon-like Formless jumped out, landing on the ground in front of the Monkey Team. It let out a roar that would have been terrifying, had it been facing anyone other than its current opponents.

"Kid?" Sprx looked at Chiro.

"Formation C!" Chiro ordered, "Hyperforce, go!" He deactivated his blades. (Hah, you thought I was gonna make him just like Mandarin!)

As the others went to flank the monster, Chiro was about to perform a Monkey Fu blast when he noticed that nothing was happening. He then felt extremely drained of energy.

"Uh..." His arms dropped to his sides as the beast lunged towards him.

"Hey!" Sprx shouted, "Over here big fella!" The monster paused and looked at the red monkey, "Electro-vibra Force!" He fired violent electromagnetic vibrations at the massive Formless.

Much to his surprise, the creature laughed as if it tickled. It then proceeded to knock the red joker against a wall.

"Sprx!" Nova shouted before going for a running attack at the Formless. The creature simply pulled a swift reversal, got behind her, and smacked her to the ground.

"Be careful!" Gibson warned the remaining conscious members, "It's faster than it looks!" He then fired a laser at it, causing damage. The Formless retaliated with a swipe of its huge tail. Gibson was flung into a wall.

Otto went to attack the feet. The creature simply kicked him off towards a wall.

Chiro looked up at the monster, then at the unconscious monkeys. He needed to get control of this body. It didn't seem to like him using the Power Primate, but he should force it. Struggling to lift his arms, he looked at the massive Formless again. Maybe he should be just as big!

He awoke his Inner Primate, the hard-light gorilla surrounding his entire form. It hurt like heck to hold it, but he'd get used to it. He _had_ to if he wanted to save Jinmay. He looked at the Formless, who seemed shocked to see something else as large as itself.

* * *

At the top of the pyramid, Valina's platform rose up from inside, making a crystal skull design with the large wall of crystal in the shape of the upper half of a skull. She sat atop the left cheek bone, watching as a sacrificial alter rose up across the way, their prisoner bound to it.

"Let me go!" Jinmay cried as she struggled with the bonds, "Please!"

"You should be honored girl," Valina said, "Your purity will make a great sacrifice to the Dark One Worm!" Tribal Formless behind her began some for of ritualistic dance, the summoning being prepared.

Jinmay just continued struggling. If only Chiro were here... She struggled harder as she thought of what he had died for. She had thought that she heard his voice earlier, but it had to have been her imagination...

* * *

The Formless demon prepared to charge. Chiro, now feeling more comfortable with his power, prepared as well. The two charged at each other, the Formless going high to grapple. Chiro went low and knocked it back to a wall.

The monster picked up a large chunk of shattered wood and tossed it at the hard-light gorilla. The heavy object stopped less than halfway in, just above Chiro's head.

_'Phew,'_ He thought_, 'A couple inches lower and I would have been gone again...'_

He grabbed the wood with his Inner Primate and tossed it aside. He then went to charge again. The Formless was faster this time and hit the gorilla in the face, then in the chest, then tossed him against the wall. Chiro hit the ground on the edge of consciousness. As the Formless went to finish him off, Antauri jumped in the way.

"Monkey Mind Scream!" He let out a screech that stopped the monster in its tracks. The then jumped forward, "Faze and Daze!" He went straight through the head of the Formless, landing on the other side his claws deactivating. The black monkey looked at himself for a moment. Something was odd...

As the monster held its head, utterly confused as to what had just happened, Chiro came from behind with his Inner Primate and ripped the Formless' head clean off. He tossed it aside as the creature turned to goop. Then, he sealed his inner power away, nearly falling unconscious in the process.

Antauri caught him as he stumbled, "It will take time for you to adjust to the Power Primate again, Chiro," He said, "Though your ability with it is admirable, it would have taken a master to retain their power after what you went through."

"I tried a Monkey Fu," Chiro mumbled, "And then I just felt so... weak..."

"We will practice when this is over," Antauri promised, "For now, we should reactivate the other monkeys."

It took a little longer than usual, as Antauri showed Chiro how to access the different tools in his body. When the others were all conscious again, Chiro looked around.

"How are we getting out of here?" He asked, "This tomb's completely sealed."

Antauri seemed to ponder something. He then went into meditation mode and began searching for an exit. He found one and then performed something that confused the other monkeys: His body was covered in the energy that normally would surround his Ghost Claws. He then fazed through a wall, making the other monkeys' eyes widen to the size of saucers. There was a click and the entire wall slid up, Antauri on the other side, motioning for the others to follow.

"Antauri..." Chiro said in awe, "H-how..."

"I will explain later." The black monkey simply replied

* * *

Valina's ceremony was going just as planned. She was singing the portal open for the Dark One Worm. By the time the Hyperforce arrived, the portal was open and more than large enough for the Dark One to enter through.

"Jinmay!" Chiro was about to run to the bound girl when Antauri stopped him.

"We need to know what we are up against." He stated.

Chiro sighed and crouched down with the others. They watched as the Dark One came down from the portal towards Jinmay, Skeleton King's head tethered to the giant worm. The head went directly to the girl and seemed to inspect her. She screamed as it let out a hiss.

"We need to go," Chiro looked at Antauri, "Now!"

"You take care of Valina," Antauri said, "I will save Jinmay." He entered the new form from before and fazed into the pyramid.

Chiro led the Hyperforce up to the crystal wall and looked up at Valina.

"Sorceress!" He called.

The girl let out an unintelligible scream as she leaped down from the crystal structure, dark energy surrounding her.

"Hyperforce Go!" Chiro ordered, activating both his blades.

Valina knocked all five down with energy blasts. At the same time, the Skeleton King's head was slowly and dramatically moving closer to Jinmay. Antauri shot out of the ground and slashed the skull in the eyes, making it and the Dark One rear back in pain. The black monkey then cut Jinmay's bonds.

"Run!" He ordered her as the skull appeared in front of him.

The rest of the Hyperforce stood against Valina, who was levitating before them like some kind of goddess. Sprx was the first to attack.

"Magna-Ball Beam Splitter!" Srx fired bits of electricity at the sorceress, who blocked the attack with magical shields.

"Your powers are weak in my domain!" The violet-eyed woman sneered. She then conjured a bubble, which soon contained Sprx. The red monkey furiously tried to escape, but to no avail.

"I'll show her, Sprx!" Gibson fired blue electricity at her, but she deflected it away.

"Fools!" Valina laughed she trapped Gibson as well. She then approached Chiro and the remaining monkeys, "You are all my sacrifices now!"

"Flame Fist Fury!" Nova fired a stream of flame towards her. The sorceress simply froze the flame and launched the solid projectiles back at the yellow monkey, knocking her unconscious. Otto ran to help her.

Back to Antauri and the Skeleton King's skull.

"Mindless fool!" The skull fired a dark beam from its mouth at the black monkey, who dodged without a thought. He then landed and slashed the skull in the eyes, making it screech in pain. It then fired the beam again, this time hitting Antauri.

Otto launched his saws at Valina, only for her to teleport out of the way.

"Wha?" the green monkey looked around, "Where'd she go?" He screamed in pain as Valina electrocuted him from behind. She laughed as she held him with the streams of electricity.

"Hey!" Chiro called angrily. When she looked, she saw nothing.

"Huh?" She looked around, "Where is-" She dodged the blade just in time, a small cut on the back of her dress. She knew that Chiro was new to being a robot monkey, but he was adjusting too quickly! She needed a distract-

Chiro disappeared again. Valina prepared herself this time, but it wasn't the same attack. The silver monkey appeared in front of her this time, knicking her left cheek with the hot energy blade. Her hand instinctively flew to the burning cut. Not wanting another attack like that, the witch summoned skull bats to attack him.

As Chiro dealt with the bats, the Skeleton King was holding his attack on Antauri. He let up with the beam, giving the monkey some time to breathe, before firing again. He let up a second time, only for Antauri to use his upgrade yet again and enter the ghost-like mode. He grabbed the skull and rammed his head into it, causing an energy discharge to occur. The electrical current traveled up the tether and shocked the entire Dark One Worm.

Valina looked at the sight with wide eyes, "Master!" She cried in terror.

Chiro used her distraction as a cue to use his Monkey Mind Scream. It wasn't on her, but on her source of power, the massive crystal skull on top of the pyramid. The colossal gemstone splintered before it violently exploded.

Antauri let go of the Skeleton King's skull and dropped to the ground. The Dark One receded back through the portal as it closed.

Chiro looked back at Valina, who was still shocked at the series of events that had just unfolded.

"Your powers are done for, Valina!" He said, "And so are YOU!"

Her magic began to wear off. Gibson and Sprx were released from the bubbles. The bats disappeared.

"NO!" Valina made a desperate attack on the silver monkey.

Chiro simply performed a Monkey Fu, blasting her off the edge of the pyramid. She fell to a pool of dark goop below. Mortals rarely would survive such a fate...

Jinmay poked her head up from the side of the pyramid, looking at the monkeys. She noticed one was new, a silver one. It looked at her.

"Jinmay!" He said, wide eyed. There was great relief in his voice, which sounded just like...

"Ch... Chiro...?" The girl asked cautiously. She climbed up onto the top of the pyramid.

The silver monkey locked up, now finding something that scared him: Jinmay didn't recognize him until he spoke... Granted, he was _human_ the last time they had seen each other. Now, he wasn't even organic, nor did he look human!

"Y-yeah..." He stuttered, feeling slightly ashamed and not exactly knowing what her response would be. Much to his surprise, he found himself picked up and quite literally crushed in the tightest hug the girl could muster up.

"I thought you were dead!" She cried happily, "Everyone did! I'm just glad to see you okay!"

"I'll be dead soon if you don't loosen your grip...!" Chiro squealed, unable to move.

"Oh!" Jinmay loosened the hug, "Sorry! I guess I forgot my strength there!" She chuckled a bit. The moment was interrupted by a low rumbling.

"What's going on?" Nova asked.

"The whole cave's collapsing!" Sprx exclaimed.

"Look!" Otto pointed at a large hole. The Super Robot was lowering into the cave.

Chiro was confused, "Who summoned the-"

"Just get inside!" Antauri ordered as he was in his meditative position.

Everyone nodded and entered the machine. The Robot then took off, leaving the cave as it fell into itself.

* * *

"I'm so sorry..." Jinmay muttered sadly on the flight home. Her tone put a wrench in the good mood.

"What do you mean?" Chiro asked, confused.

"If I wasn't captured..." She sounded honestly choked up, "You wouldn't have had to save me... None of this would have happened!"

"It's not your fault," Chiro told her, trying to cheer her up, "Friends always come first!"

* * *

Not long after the Skeleton King's attack on Shuggazoom, the city's reconstruction was well under way. In the Super Robot, Jinmay went through training to learn how to master her powers. It was her idea in the first place, as she didn't want to be the helpless damsel anymore. With Nova's training and the Super Robot's obstacle courses, the android learned very quickly.

As the whole team, minus the two bickerers, was observing Jinmay's latest training session, both aforementioned bickerers entered the room.

"No no no..." Sprx said to Gibson before announcing to the rest of the Hyerforce, "If Chiro's first in command and Antauri's second, then that means that I'm THIRD in command!"

"That's absurd!" Gibson sneered, "Antauri, who, pray tell, is third in command?"

"Nova, of course." The black monkey answered without so much as the slightest hesitation.

Both brothers' jaws dropped, finding something that they agreed on for once. "Mm hm!" Nova smugly walked past them.

"Well," Otto shrugged, "At least this whole Skeleton King business is done. The city's finally safe from him!"

"Nobody's safe from Skeleton King..." Chiro muttered darkly, "Especially now... We have to do something about it."

"Why don't we?" Antauri asked. It was more than a question, however.

* * *

The whole of the city's populace crowded around the Super Robot. The Hyperforce stood atop the machine, Chiro nervous with his new body. Hopefully, he didn't have to worry about any comments towards that...

"Citizens of Shuggazoom!" He addressed them, "The city is safe! But the Skeleton King is still out there, spreading his evil across the galaxy! But don't worry, your Hyperforce is gonna stop him once and for all!"

"Where's Chiro?" Someone called up, confused.

"_I'm_ Chiro!" He called back down, "It's a long story, and I don't want to talk about it right now! Anyways... In our absence, the city will have a new protector to guard Shuggazoom! Her name is Jinmay!" He motioned to the girl, now in her own Hyperforce uniform.

"You know..." He said, hoping the comment wouldn't offend her now, "You make that uniform look pretty good."

"Thanks Chiro," She smiled, "Just promise me one thing, though."

"What?"

"That you'll come back to me." She kissed him on the cheek, making a chorus of awes rise from the crowd below. She then dropped down from the Super Robot, activating her rocket feet to slow her landing, and leaving a shocked Chiro atop the machine.

Chiro shook himself out of his daze, "Goodbye Shuggazoom! We will return victorious!"

* * *

**I would like to point out to anyone who thinks that last part with Jinmay and Chiro was wrong or sick, they're both ****completely****mechanical****! That means that, even though they would have lovey-dovey feelings for each other, they are (logically speaking) a-sexual beings! Or, more accurately, they cannot procreate without the use of robotic parts and a welding torch! I'm just trying to have a story like this without completely shattering Chiro's heart! (even if his heart may be made of metal now...)**

** Also, I don't remember if the people of Shuggazoom could understand the monkeys at some point in the series. Just humor me and imagine that they can.**

** P.S. – I gave Antauri an upgrade because I still loved his silver monkey powers, especially the ghost mode!**


	3. Season of the Skull

** Okay, so I'm doing these in order of release date. Even though this was the Halloween Special, it was also the third episode in the season. This one was much closer to the episode than I had anticipated. Enjoy...**

* * *

The Super Robot was in hot pursuit of the Skeleton King worm. They were getting very close. Inside, the Monkey Team sat in the control room. Chiro now had orange accents on his silver body, thanks to Otto. It _did_ creep Nova out quite a bit. He recalled overhearing the conversation.

_ "Did you **have** to go with orange, Otto?" Nova had complained._

_ "What?" The green monkey had shrugged, "His color's supposed to be orange, isn't it?"_

_ "That's not the point..." Nova had sighed, "Doesn't it remind you of... you know... Mandarin?"_

_ "It's not like he's gonna go crazy with power or anything!" Otto had smiled, "He's still Chiro, right?"_

_ "I guess..."_

"The Skeleton King Worm is gaining speed," Gibson observed, bringing Chiro back to the present, "It's distance is two point seven Astro Units."

"Alright," Chiro nodded, "It's all or nothing, team. Otto, charge up the torso cannons."

"Already charged and ready, Chiro!" The green monkey gave him thumbs up.

Chiro smiled at the computer locked on, "Fire!"

The robot fired two large bursts of energy at the massive worm. On impact, they, exploded. The Skeleton King Worm let out a cry of pain.

"I think we just made it angry." Nova pointed out.

"Hold our position!" Antauri ordered quickly.

The worm turned around, facing them. It fired a beam at them, the rainbow-like energy surrounding them. The colorful energy soon swirled into a dark spiral. It appeared that ghosts flew by the Super Robot. The alarms sounded inside as the whole Robot shook.

"Gibson!" Chiro sounded over the noise, "What's happening?"

"The beam is transporting us across the Cosmos!" The blue monkey responded, looking over a chart.

The dark portal faded and the robot was soon surrounded by fog. The Monkey Team exited and looked around.

"Uh..." Nova looked left and right, "Where are we? I can't see a thing in this mist..."

"Wait," Antauri stopped the group, "I sense _many_ life forms approaching."

Suddenly, they were surrounded by several pairs of glowing eyes. The Hyperforce took a defensive "O" formation.

One of the enemy creatures jumped towards them. It was a black demon-like creature with wings, horns, and yellow eyes.

"Chiro!" Otto pointed, "Look out!"

The creature tackled the silver monkey. Chiro struggled against it at it tried to get its face closer to him. It was trying to bite him. As he struggled to get free, several more creatures closed in on the Hyperforce.

They were all unique in a way, varying in height and girth, but they all seemed to be relatively short (from a grown human's perspective). They all had twisted smiles on their shadowed faces. The three closest to the team leaped to attack.

"Magna Tingler Blast!" Sprx fired large arcs of electricity at one of the demons, but it did nothing to stop it. The creature knocked the red monkey back to the team.

As Sprx landed between Nova and Gibson, the yellow monkey jumped forward, ready to punch the monster in the mouth. The demon just sucked her into its mouth and, after Nova put up enough resistance, spit her back out. As she landed, she noticed she was covered in green slime and cringed heavily.

Chiro had finally gotten the demon a good enough distance away from him, "Monkey Fu!" He blasted the little monster away and jumped to his feet. After the creature recovered in the air, it fired an energy burst from its tail. Chiro was knocked back and Antauri turned his attention to the small demon. He entered his own ghost mode and leaped towards the imp. It simply fired another energy burst and hit the black monkey.

Antauri landed on his knees, his ghost mode deactivating. Everyone readied their weapons as the creatures stepped forward.

"Our weapons are powerless against these fiends." Gibson pointed out as the demons got closer.

Then, the demons turned around to face the mist. There was a sound similar to a howl.

"More monsters?" Otto readied his saws.

A masked figure with glowing yellow eyes stepped out of the fog. The demons seemed to lock up in fear. The figure then shouted at the fiends, "Back, you creatures of the night!" The demons fled, running and flying away in terror.

The figure then noticed the Monkey Team. He approached them and they prepared themselves for a fight.

"You are safe now, strangers," He assured them, removing the mask, "It is only a mask." His face looked elderly. His hair was weathered and balding, his eyebrows thick, and upon his cheeks were mutton chops. His teeth were crooked, his eyes gray, yet he looked like a nice person all the same. He wore a dapper suit from a time long forgotten in this age of space travel.

The fog began to clear, possibly with the fleeing demons. As the Monkey Team glanced around, they found that they were on a hilltop in a land that appeared dead.

"Where in the Universe are we?" Chiro asked, confused as to how they could have ended up here.

"Right outside of Cryptovania, my friends," The elderly man smiled, gesturing towards a small village in the distance, "I am the Magistrate of this tiny town. Please, follow me." He began walking to the town, the Monkey Team following...

* * *

The town appeared empty and much larger than it had seemed in the distance. What had caught the Hyperforce's attention the most were the peculiar decorations around the town. There were bats, large, fat gourds with faces carved into them, a weather-vane in the shape of a witch on her broomstick. This town had customs that were unknown to the people of Shuggazoom, whether they were forgotten or had never existed on the planet.

The Monkey Team was lead by the Magistrate down the central avenue of Cryptovania, towards a rather large estate on a hilltop in the center of town. It was easy to assume that this was where the elder man lived.

They were stopped at a crossroads when a wagon with a large orange gourd, pulled by two black cats dashed by. Otto ran out into the road, looking after the strangest thing the monkeys had ever seen today.

"Cool..." He said with wide eyes. He excitedly looked around, "Look how _spooktacular_ everything is!"

Sprx just shivered, "C-can we just leave now?"

"What's the matter?" Nova smiled deviously, "SCARED?"

The red monkey quickly hid his fear and took an annoyed pose, "No! I... just got this weird feeling..."

Gibson nodded, "I agree with Sprx... for once. This world and its customs are highly suspicious."

They then noticed that the townspeople were all along the main road, masks in hand. They had blank looks on their faces as the Hyperforce walked by.

"So Magistrate," Chiro picked up his pace to match the elder man's, "What's going on around here?"

"A great curse has befallen us," The man explained with a heavy heart, "Every night, demons from the Netherworld come and steal our little ones away."

"Demons, you say?" Gibson looked intrigued.

"The only thing that can ward them off," The Magistrate continued, pulling out his own mask, "Are masks more frightening than they."

They finally reached the manor, waking up the path to the front doors. As if out of nowhere, a red haired woman appeared in front of the doors and the sound of thunder was heard. Sprx screeched and cowered back, nearly backing into Otto, who was staring in awe at the lady.

She appeared to be younger than the Magistrate, if only slightly. Her hair was short and blood red, her skin pale -possibly from makeup- her eyes pitch black. She wore a black dress that showed signs of wealth, and possibly a corset underneath.

How she knew what they were saying before reaching the manor, none but the Magistrate and she knew, "We call this curse the Season of the Skull."

The Magistrate's good mood returned and her gestured towards the woman, "This is my wife, Sevirina. Welcome to our humble abode." The doors opened on their own and bats flew out of the house, followed by ghosts.

Sprx suddenly held up his hands, "Whoa whoa whoa! You think I'm going in _there?_ With _that_ old creepazoid? You're outta your box!" He crossed his arms and held his ground.

Gibson leaned in, "No need to fear these superstitious lifeforms Sprx. Curses, magic, it's all just a mass of mumbo-jumbo..."

"Don't be _too_ hasty to condemn these people's beliefs, Gibson." Antauri followed behind him.

Sprx remained there for a couple more microns before he noticed he was alone. He looked up in terror at a sound to see a mangled ghost fly by. He quickly ran to catch up with the group, taking one last look to see if his eyes were working right.

As Sprx shut the doors quickly, panting heavily, the Magistrate started an oil lamp. As the main hall was filled with light, the Hyperforce found that this room had even stranger decorations than the town. Occult sculptures, voodoo wall paintings, the works. They looked at the elder man as he began to speak.

"There are only a handful of little ones left in the village..." He said solemnly, "We need your help."

"Here strangers," Sevirina gestured towards a cabinet, "Take these magic masks to protect yourselves from the demons." The cabinet opened to reveal six masks. There was a Frankenstein, a vampire, a devil, a ghost, a witch, and a jackalope.

Chiro approached the cabinet, Sprx close behind. The silver monkey turned around with the Frankenstein mask, making a roaring noise. If possible, Sprx would have jumped straight out of his skin. The look of terror on his face was astounding.

"How do I look?" Chiro asked the others, ignoring the cowering Sprx.

"Weird..." Otto awed, "I want one!" He dashed towards the cabinet.

Sprx had recovered and put on the devil mask. He looked at Chiro, "I feel like an idiot..."

Nova jumped in front of him with the witch mask on, making a similar noise to what Chiro had made earlier.

Sprx screeched again, nearly falling over before noticing who it was, "Hehe... Nova..."

She triumphantly made the cackling laugh of a witch, jumping in victory before slapping him in the back of the head.

Gibson was wearing the vampire mask with a cape, "I really hope that blood drinking isn't a part of this ritual..."

Antauri was wearing the ghost mask, "I suppose my new ghost mode would be appropriate now?" His body was then covered by the teal energy of what was now his favorite power, his inner constructs almost completely visible.

Chiro paused, noticing something that was very similar about the power that they both shared... Ah, he'd ask Antauri about it later!

Otto had put the Jackalope mask on and looked at the rest of the group, "How do ya like me now?" He bounced on all fours in front of the Monkey Team, tail curled up, "I'm a Jackalope!"

Out of the monkeys' field of vision, the Magistrate and his wife shot dark smiles at each other.

Gibson noticed a book. No, not a book, a _grimoire_. A book of spells. He walked up to it and read the title, "_The Grimoire of Necrotis_?" He read some of the ancient symbols written inside, "Hmm, maybe there is a rational explanation to this mystery in this somewhat diabolical looking tome..." He continued flipping until he landed on a page with a single symbol that resembled the faces of the demons from before

That was when they heard the commotion outside. Everyone in the house ran over to the window, seeing the townspeople running from the demons that were now swooping in.

"The demons have returned!" The Magistrate exclaimed hopelessly.

The Hyerforce dashed into the town, masks on their faces. Chiro landed a punch on a demon before the others were ready to fight. Even though he had his own weapons, he still preferred his fists above all. Antauri kicked a demon, making it fly back into a wall.

"Magna-ball Beam Splitter!" Sprx shot down three demons.

"Laser Criss Cross!" Gibson beamed down two demons.

"Scritch-Scratch Doom Thrower!" Otto launched energy fragments, taking down a demon and scaring the other two that were with it away. Otto paused, then shouted happily "Hey! These masks are boosting our powers!"

Two demons, going to run, were intercepted by Nova. She grabbed them, spun in a circle, and tossed them into a wall. She dusted off her hands and turned away, "That's that!"

The rest of the fiends fled en masse, flying as fast as possible. It just wasn't their day, was it? The Monkey Team removed their masks, watching the demons fly off. They then noticed that sad faces of the townspeople. They were crying.

"What's wrong with everyone?" Otto asked, "We just saved the town."

They heard Sevirina cry out, "Our little ones! They're gone! They're all gone!"

"How our we get them back?" Chiro asked, knowing that it wouldn't be easy.

"There is only one way..." The Magistrate said darkly, "You must find the Mystic Flame of Thanatos."

"It's fire is the only thing that can destroy the demons..." Sevirina explained.

"So where do we get this Mystic Flame?" Chiro asked.

"It forever burns in the Sacred Cemetery beyond the haunted forest," The Magistrate pointed to a dark hill, "But, I warn you: All that have ventured into there have _never_ returned."

"No worries, Magistrate," Chiro smiled smugly, "How hard could it be to find a flame in a dark cemetery?"

* * *

"Follow the path my friends," Sevirina saw them off, "But I warn you not to stray from it. Lest evil come your way..." The fog overcame them and the Magistrate, Sevirina, and the entirety of the village seemed to disappear into thin air. Chiro blinked, hoping his robotic eyes weren't deceiving him.

They walked towards the haunted forest, though it wasn't that long of a walk. Once they were there, Sprx had completely lost his nerve. He heard a hooting noise and looked up. In a tree was an owl with a very angry looking face. He thought he heard voices in the mist that filled the forest. Girls chattering, children laughing, the occasional scream of bloody murder. He froze when he heard "Spaaarxxx..." The red monkey let out a whimper and ran to catch up with the group.

"Where are we?" Nova asked, "We've been walking forever."

Gibson looked up, beyond the trees, "Has anyone noticed? The moon hasn't moved since we arrived here."

"Gibson is right," Antauri agreed in a suspicious tone, "This world is not governed by normal time and space."

"Listen," Sprx said, moving up to Antauri, "Gab all you want. I say we take a shortcut."

"No way Sprx!" Chiro exclaimed, "Remember what Sevirina said about staying on the path? 'Lest evil come your way'?"

"Okay okay," Sprx surrendered, "Just... let me get a bird's eye view." He activated his rocket pack. Before he got more than ten feet off the ground, a tree branch smacked him back to earth. Sprx rubbed his head as he went to stand up, "Ugh... what hit me?"

As if on cue, a tree _turned around and faced him_. The animate plant had a demon mask on it, the eye holes burning. A branch came down and snatched Sprx off his feet.

"Wha-What the...?" He was violently pulled up.

"Sprx!" Chiro shouted. He and the rest of the Monkey Team ran for their red friend, Chiro going to attack first, "Drop him!" He fired a Monkey Fu at the tree, making the possessed plant screech in pain and drop its captive.

Sprx landed on the ground very ungracefully, Nova and Gibson running to help him up.

"Sprx," Nova shook him, "Are you okay?"

"Been better..." The monkey struggled up. A tree behind them woke up, smacking Gibson and Nova away from their friend. Antauri jumped out of nowhere, "Claw Slash Attack!" He cut straight through the dead wood, severing the branch.

Two more trees awoke and attacked. Otto ran at them, saws ready for anything... except getting grabbed from behind. The tree tossed him away.

"Shadow Cutter!" Chiro disappeared. The tree seemingly grabbed out to the thin air, but caught Chiro in mid-swing of his right handed beam blade. Several more branches grabbed on to him and began pulling. Chiro couldn't take it, "Monkey Fu!" He let out an non-concentrated blast of energy, incinerating the branches.

As he landed on the ground, the other monkeys regrouped. They were completely surrounded. How awkward an ending: the Super Robot Monkey Team defeated by _trees_.

"Back on the path, team!" Chiro ordered. They all ran for dear life. Otto fell behind and was grabbed by the branches just as the others made it to the path. The trees returned to normal, as if nothing ever happened.

"Aaagh!" Otto screamed, no longer being held by an evil tree, but holding himself up on the fork of a branch, "Help! I don't want to-" He stopped as he looked around.

On the path, everyone was panting, catching their breath.

"Sprx..." Nova panted in an angry tone, "I'm only gonna say this just _one_ time... STAY ON THE PATH!"

* * *

They had continued on their path towards the cemetery. Gibson was looking at the grimoire he had taken from the manor. Antauri noticed this.

"What is that tome you're reading, Gibson?"

"A supposed book of magic," Gibson shrugged, "But I highly doubt this grimoire actually works."

Otto snatched the book from his hands, "Really? Let me try!" He flipped a couple pages, "Aguru kookoo ROOROO!"

There was a poof and Gibson's head became that of a chicken's, "Egad! I've become some sort of poultry!"

"Oh sweet!" Otto grinned ear to ear.

"Regrettably," Gibson shrugged, "I make a rather handsome chicken."

Otto looked up the reverse spell, "Malahi mukuru MUI!"

There was another poof and Gibson's head was back to normal.

"Well," Nova shrugged, "At least you know the book works."

"Nonsense!" Gibson took the book back from Otto before he could cause any more trouble, "It's simply the will manipulating reality at the quantum level." He glanced back at Otto, "I really don't _believe_ in magic!"

They continued for a little while longer until Chiro stopped.

"Wait!" He stopped them, "The path is gone!"

Antauri pointed, "Chiro, up ahead."

They all looked at the gates of an old, rundown cemetery. Inside, they could see rows upon rows of grave markers. Sprx shivered again. Why did they have to drag him around _this_ place?

"The Sacred Cemetery..." Nova muttered.

The team walked carefully through the hallowed grounds, not wanting to disturb anything they could possibly wake up. Chiro remembered Antauri's instructions on how to use the different gadgets in his body. He activated thermal goggles, looking for the Mystic Flame.

"Chiro?" The black monkey asked.

"Straight ahead," The silver answered, "I'd say somewhere around ten meters."

"We need to work on your estimations..." Gibson muttered in the back of the group.

They finally reached the Flame, being held by the statue of a demon.

"The Flame of Thanatos..." Chiro mumbled. Antauri floated his way up to the torch and lifted it from the statue's hand. An odd sound rang through the cemetery as gourds with faces lit up with an eery yellow light. They lifted off the ground as ghosts possessed them.

"Hyperforce Go!" Chiro ordered.

Nova instantly jumped to attack, but went straight through the ghostly body of her target. Otto tossed his saws at the body, but they went straight through, leaving him defenseless to the entity's headbutt. Sprx was being held down by two, another lifting its "head" off of its ghostly shoulders. The pumpkin was replaced by another as the monster tossed its former head at the red monkey. Sprx spent a while trying to get the gourd off of his face.

Chiro, fending the creatures off with the Flame, shouted to the intelligent monkey, "Gibson! Use that magic book!"

"But, I can't make it work!" Gibson complained, "It's illogical!"

"GIBSON!" Chiro glared, now with three of the creatures on top of him.

"O-okay..." Gibson looked at the book, "Very well. Klodtu Berata Nipto!" He didn't notice the flower poof onto his head, "Nothing happened!" He braced himself as one of the ghosts flew towards him. There was a quick movement and the gourd fell to pieces as Antauri dashed by. The fruit then exploded onto Gibson's face. The ghost dissipated.

"Aim for the gourds!" Antauri exclaimed.

Chiro finally freed himself of his attackers, activated his blades, and disappeared. All three gourds split in half in rapid succession as Chiro reappeared, smugly wiping his hands off. Gibson fired both beams at the gourd ghosts, popping two of the pumpkin heads. Nova went on her usual smashing spree, just aiming for the heads this time. Otto epically engaged a ghost, both practically flying towards each other. Otto won, the gourd splitting in half.

"We got it," Chiro smiled, picking up the Flame, "We got the Flame of Thanatos. Now let's get back to town."

The battle won and lost, the Monkey Team regrouped and headed back to Cryptovania...

* * *

The Magistrate and Sevirina sat on a bench swing, waiting for the Hyperforce to return. They looked up at the sound of a familiar voice. At the rear gates of their grounds, they saw the six robot monkeys from before.

"Magistrate!" Chiro called, "We're back!"

The couple exchanged cryptic glances as they stood up and approached the group approaching their home.

"Strange ones..." The elder man said, "You've done it! You've truly done it!"

"You've found the Mystic Flame!" Sevirina announced in an unbelieving tone.

Chiro handed the Flame over to the Magistrate, go gladly accepted it. He and his wife developed dark smiles as he raised the Flame up high. It seemed to pulse, and the demons from before appeared. The townspeople began to approach the manor as well. They were walking alongside the demons...

"What's going on here?" Nova asked suspiciously.

"Yeah," Sprx agreed, "What is this? Some kind of set up?"

"You fools!" The Magistrate said in a deep voice that could not have belonged to him, "We've been trying to get this Mystic Flame for _years_!" His face contorted, molding into the shape and form of a demonic face, "But demons are _forbidden_ to enter the Sacred Cemetery!"

Everyone, even the townspeople morphed into green skinned demons. The Monkey Team glanced around.

"This... doesn't look so good." Otto stated.

Sevirina cackled, "_Now_ you understand!" She gestured towards the dark demons, "These imps weren't _stealing_ our children, they _are_ our children!"

"Well what about _this_?" The Hyperforce put on their masks.

Now the Magistrate laughed, "Did you _truly_ think those masks would protect you?" He snapped his fingers and the masks warped away from their faces, wrapping around their bodies in tight bonds, "You fell right into my trap, _fools_," He smiled as they struggled...

* * *

In Cryptovania, time stands still on an odd level. Though people can go on with their lives, the days never progress. The moon never moves. The sun never sets -if one were to travel to the opposite side of the world, they would find it in a state of eternal sunrise. To say that the Cryptovanians took the Hyperforce up an ominous hill at "sunset" would be inaccurate.

They took them up an ominous hillside regardless of the time, however. At the top of the hill, where the moon shown brightest and largest, was a large wooden statue. At first glance, it appeared to be a lanky man with antlers.

The demonic parade ended at the foot of the statue, as the Magistrate turned to see his fellow Cryptovanians.

"Demons of Cryptovania!" He addressed them, "Tonight, we are here to honor our great lord: The Skeleton King!" As he said the name, the Skeleton King Worm appeared overhead, screeching to make many aware of its great presence.

"To you," Sevirina began, "We offer these _new_ victims!"

There was great cheering emanating from the crowd behind the Hyperforce. The Magistrate lifted the Flame once again.

"We now have the one thing that can bring _life_ to the Wicca Skeleton!" He announced, "The Mystic Flame of Thanatos! Let the ritual _begin_!" He placed the Flame on the wooden statue. As it touched the dry tinder, the Flame quickly consumed the entirety of the Wicca Skeleton, animating it, if not bringing it completely to life.

As the wood darkened, the face on the Skeleton developed a dark smile. It took a victorious pose as it noticed its own existence.

"I..." Gibson struggled, "I can't activate my drills!"

"Antauri?" Chiro looked at the black monkey, "Could we ghost phase through the ropes?"

"I'm afraid that it's not possible Chiro," Antauri struggled himself, "These restraints are magical in nature."

"Wait!" Nova grunted, "I think I can get my tail free!" She began to wriggle and writhe within her bonds, "Come on... come on..."

The Wicca Skeleton began to step towards them. It towered over them at a level that may have even threatened the Super Robot.

"Got it!" Nova exclaimed in triumph. She activated the propeller in the tip of her tail, using the blades to cut the constraints. She broke free and cut everyone else free. They all dropped to the ground.

"No!" The Magistrate shouted when he saw them break free.

The Wicca Skeleton was right on them now. It seemed to recognize them as a threat and went to stomp them out.

"Look out!" Chiro shouted in warning as the massive foot dropped towards them.

The entire team dodged, but only for the Skeleton to begin swatting them away like insects.

"Chiro Spearo!" Chiro tossed the bolt of pure energy at the wooden Skeleton. It only made the flames rage even more, "Uh oh..."

"Destroy them!" Sevirina ordered the Skeleton, "Destroy them all!"

Chiro dodged a ground punch just in time, wincing in pain as his tail hadn't made it out in the best condition. That was the one appendage he was still getting used to...

Otto attacked the wooden behemoth from behind with his Scritch-Scratch Doom Thrower, launching pure energy at it. Once again, it only added to the flames and the monster's rage.

"Our energy attacks are useless!" Chiro concluded.

"Allow me to distract this creature..." Antauri activated his rocket pack and began flying around the Wicca Skeleton.

Chiro looked at the blue monkey, "Gibson! Try to find a spell we can use to take this monster down."

"But there's no way I could muster the_ belief_ to-" Gibson was interrupted by Antauri's cries of pain as he was caught in the monster's flame.

"Do it!" Chiro ordered with wide eyes and panic in his tone, "Do it now!"

"Nicnok... nicnok... FUFU!" He read from the book.

The team stared at the monster as it seemed to experience massive pain in it's head. It then turned towards them, it's flame and size growing.

"Nice going Gibson," Nova said sarcastically, "Why don't you just give him a couple more arms? Or maybe an army of the undead! It's not like he's tough _now_!"

They dodged a flame burst, Otto being knocked back.

"Gibson," Chiro looked at the most intelligent person he had ever met, "The only way this is going to work is if you actually _believe_ what you're doing!"

"But it's not _logical_!" Gibson complained, nearly tossing the book in the air.

"Sometimes logic isn't the answer!" Chiro argued back.

Meanwhile, Sprx fired arcs of electricity at the monster, only to be hit by the toughest attack yet. He went flying -quite literally- out of the park.

"Sprx!" Chiro called before activating his Inner Primate and charging towards the Wicca Skeleton. He punched the flaming creature, only to notice his disadvantage by several feet. The Skeleton went to grab him, but they ended up grappling, Chiro being on the defensive, "Gibson! Use the book!" The silver monkey cried, trying to get the monster off of him.

As Gibson frantically flipped pages, the Wicca Skeleton used a new tactic. It breathed fire on Chiro, making the battle even the more unbearable for the poor monkey, "Gibson! Please!"

Gibson flipped a few more pages before stopping, "Oh yes, this will do!" He cleared his throat, "Agama Shagama Ragenda!"

Nothing happened, and Chiro's Inner Primate was flickering away, "Gi-hibson! For crying out loud!" His tone was becoming heavily pained.

"I'm not _through_!" Gibson pointed out, "Aze supa mumen shagons PUYAKASHA!"

Light began to emanate from the massive wooden behemoth and it let go of Chiro. After the silver monkey had time to back away, the burning creature exploded. It began to rain what appeared to be bits of light.

Gibson opened his eyes to see a large green hard-light gorilla kneeling in front of him, a silver monkey with orange accents suspended inside. Chiro gave him a thumbs up, "You did it."

Gibson just relied with a meek smile. The Flame of Thanatos, no longer bound to the horrific Wicca Skeleton, shot from the ground in retaliation against the Skeleton King Worm. Once again, the Dark One fled, but not before being forced out of the planet's atmosphere by the vengeful Flame.

The demons, without the Dark One's corruption, reverted to their human forms en masse, the dark energies leaving their bodies and dispersing into the world itself.

Sevirina looked around, "W-where am I?"

"What has happened?" The Magistrate looked around, "Who..." He spotted the six robot monkeys, "Who are you?"

"I think we've got a lot of explaining to do here, guys." Chiro said to the other monkeys.

"Gibson," Antauri looked at the blue monkey, "Do you believe that you can use the book to get us off of this strange world?"

"At this point," Gibson smiled, "I believe that _anything_ is possible."

* * *

The Cryptovanian crowd cheered at the feet of the Super Robot as it prepared to take off. It lifted off and flew towards the edge of the atmosphere.

"Abramilian!" Gibson began reading, "Abraxus Xenoraff!" A portal opened up and the Super Robot exited the odd world of Cryptovania...

* * *

The Hyperforce stood in the control room. They all looked at the main screen, displaying charts and numbers that not many people would be able to understand. On an empty space of the control panel sat a carved pumpkin.

"We're back in pursuit of the Dark One Worm." Antauri stated.

"Yes..." Gibson shook his head, "But they've gained a substantial lead. It could be days before we catch up with them."

Sprx approached the group, but jumped in fear. Why was there a pumpkin in here? Was it going to turn into a ghost and attack?

"You... uh..." Sprx stuttered, "You actually brought one of those gourd things with you. Hehe..."

"Yeah Sprx," Chiro smiled, "I was thinking maybe we could celebrate a Spook Day back on Shuggazoom!"

"YEAH!" Otto said lowering a book, turning his chair to face the team, "That would be the best!"

"Uh..." Nova pointed, "Is that Gibson's spell book you're reading?"

"Yup!" Otto nodded, "It's got some really sweet things in here. Listen to this remedy for itchy fur! Azod Porosytosa Tevac!"

Everybody jumped aside as Sprx was hit by the spell. As the smoke cleared, there was a giant rat.

"What did it do?" He asked, "Did it do anything?"

"Eeewwww!" Nova backed away in disgust.

"What's wrong?" Sprx asked. Gibson fainted, "Wuz..." He looked at Nova, but saw something completely different.

To him, for some unknown reason, all he saw was a giant wheel of cheese.

"Sprx?" Nova asked cautiously, "Wh-what are you doing? Sprx? Sprx!"

* * *

Antauri was in his room, meditating, when he heard a beep from the door.

"Enter," He said his eyes remaining closed. He heard the door open and the monkey enter, "Hello Gibson. I'm sensing that something is troubling you?"

"Yes," Gibson said very concernedly, "You are."

Antauri's eyes snapped open and he turned to face the blue monkey, "What do you mean?"

"I've treated burns for both Sprx and Otto since our last mission ended," Gibson began, "Yet, you took the most damage, but you haven't even shown signs of physical pain or... anything. I fear that you may have suffered nerve damage. If you could just come with me to the clinic-"

"I am fine, Gibson." The black monkey assured him.

"Antauri," Gibson seemed to be pleading, "Nobody experiences 2000 degrees centigrade and is just 'fine'!"

The wiser monkey just placed a hand on the other's shoulder, "I am perfectly healthy, Gibson. That is final. Now, I would like to return to my meditation."

Gibson sighed in defeat and nodded, leaving the second in command's room. As he headed back down to his lab, he noticed that there was a flaw in Antauri's tone and speech. It almost seemed like he was... _afraid_ to come to the clinic.

Gibson's thoughts were stored away as he entered his lab and saw Sprx sitting on the examination table. The red monkey was obviously in pain, his faceplate at his side, Nova on the other. She had a look of annoyance on her face.

"He took a buzz stick to the face in the training room," Nova sighed, "Aggravated the burns."

Gibson nodded. If anyone knew about burns, it was Nova. She had received as many as she had dished out. Sprx had only made minor contact with the Wicca Skeleton, yet he still had burns bordering the second and third degrees. How bad could Antauri have it?

* * *

** That little part at the end was the beginning of a plot line I cooked up. So, yeah. I took like five SRMTHFG personality tests, and they all said that I was an Antauri! I always thought myself to be a cross between a Gibson and an Otto... Oh well, Antauri is my favorite _canon_ monkey!**


	4. Ghost in the Machinder

**Thank you, to all those who reviewed! I can always use some cheering on. This chapter has a little less awesome "Chiro the Silver Monkey" in it as it is just the way the episode played out. Also, many things will be revealed about Antauri in this chapter.**

* * *

Antauri was in the kitchen, cutting up dried carrot rations. It was his night to cook, and he most certainly was going to make a vegetarian option. The door opened to reveal a concerned Nova. She walked up to him.

"Um... Antauri?"

"Yes Nova." Antauri replied, not taking his sight off of the knife.

"I... _we_ are all kind of worried about you," Nova said sincerely, "Ever since the Alchemist's Lab..."

"I am fine, Nova." The black monkey assured her.

"But that monster on Cryptovania," Nova pointed out, "It hit you directly! Sprx and Otto had terrible burns after that fight!"

Antauri was beginning to get annoyed. It was nobody's business but his own! His head snapped to Nova, "I am fine!"

Nova didn't respond, a look of terror on her face. It took the black monkey a second to realize that it wasn't directed at him. He looked down at the cutting board to see that he had cut a finger off.

Their arms and hands may have been robotic, but they were still supposed to feel through them. That was why they had cyberstatic nervous systems in the first place. Of course, they could easily repair most damage to their arms. Antauri picked up his finger and held it up to its respectful spot on his hand. Cables came out to grab the small appendage and repair the damage.

"You... y-you didn't feel that?" Nova tripped over her words in disbelief.

"Nova..." Antauri mumbled, "I am perfectly fine..."

* * *

The Super Robot flew through the Cosmos. It had been nearly a week since the incident on Cryptovania, and Gibson had calculated the most likely coordinates of the Dark One Worm. Nearly the entire team had gathered in the control room.

"Set course for the Dega System," Chiro set calmly, "If the Skeleton King Worm is _anywhere_, it _has_ to be there." As he pressed the enter key, the alert sounded and the engines cut off.

"Strange..." Gibson looked over a control panel, "The Super Robot isn't responding to our commands..." He furiously tried to get the massive machine to work.

On the heads up screen, the course on the star map changed, setting the Robot to head in nearly the opposite direction of their intended destination.

"Is the Super Robot..." Nova muttered, "Is it changing it's own course?"

The Robot stopped, turned sharply, and activated its Hyper Boost.

"Let's check the navigation system," The silver monkey suggested, "Maybe it's down?"

The rest of the team nodded and they headed down to the computer room. Bathed in the eery red light of the largest computer on board, the team stood around Otto as he inspected the brain of the Robot.

The green monkey looked up and shrugged, "It's not the computers. But, you're not gonna believe this: The Super Robot is overriding our commands."

Everyone looked up at the wall of calculating machinery in front of them. How was that possible?

"So you're saying..." Chiro started, "It's... thinking for itself?"

"Perhaps there's more to the Robot than meets the eye." Antauri suggested.

"You gotta be kidding me, Antauri," Sprx shook his head, "I mean, it's a machine! It's probably just broken."

"I feel that I must agree with Sprx on this," Gibson nodded, "Technically speaking, machines can only appear to be alive."

Chiro cleared his throat nonchalantly, but Antauri spoke, "Appearances can be deceiving, Gibson."

"Look," Sprx said to Antauri, "What you see is what you get. Machines _cannot_ have a soul."

"I'm getting a little uncomfortable with this conversation," Chiro waved, "I'll, uh... I'll see you guys later." He was about to walk out when the alarm sounded.

The team headed to the control room as fast as possible. When there, they found that whatever had called for the alarm to sound was too large to fit on the heads up screen.

"What _is_ that?" Chiro asked.

"I don't know," Otto said in a worried tone, "But it's gearing up to attack us!"

The enemy ship, which looked like some sort of giant insect, opened its front bay doors. A large beam fired, surrounding the entire Super Robot. At that moment, the artificial gravity inside the Robot was shut down.

"It's got us in a tractor beam!" Sprx exclaimed as the Robot was pulled closer and closer to the massive vessel.

As the gravitational effects of the tractor beam wore off on the inside of the Robot, The Monkey Team regrouped.

"Otto," Chiro got up after falling to the floor, "Stabilize the Robot!"

Otto forced his way up to the control panel, "This should do it!" He pushed a lever and the Robot fully stabilized, the gravity returning to a comfortable setting.

The monkeys gathered at the heads up screen. They were being pulled towards the gigantic construct.

"What is that thing, Gibson?" Nova practically demanded from the blue genius.

He scanned for any biological signatures, but found none, "Life signs are negative, so I theorize that it's some form of automated craft. It may believe us to be hostile."

"_Us_ hostile?" Sprx asked incredulously, "That thing looks like some sort of terminator death droid bent on blowing up the Cosmos!"

"Don't jump to conclusions, Sprx," Antauri said with his arms folded, "We should at least attempt to communicate."

"What do you wanna do?" Sprx asked with a smirk, "Make friends with it?"

Chiro opened a hailing frequency, "Attention exploration craft, we are the Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce. We are not your enemy."

The heads up screen flickered as a face appeared on it. It was a virtual face, but appeared to be human, "Greetings, Hyperforce. I am VX-808 Modular Computer Tracker Probe from the Tellis Star System."

"Why do you have your tractor beam locked onto us?" Gibson asked.

"Because you originate from the planet Shuggazoom, of course." VX-808 replied.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Nova wondered as they were pulled into the craft. They passed through a massive corridor, the Super Robot nothing but an ant compared to the size of the area.

"This is starting to freak me out." Sprx said in a worried tone.

"Whoa..." Otto stared in awe at the huge metal walls with circuitry running down them, "Pretty neat. I've never seen technology like _this_ before!"

They accessed one of the windows in the command center and used it for a better view. They entered a massive room that had generators and computers all around it. Automated repair drones moved around along cables and machines, continuing their never ending lists of tasks. The team then passed over a very familiar droid.

"Is that what I think it is?" Nova asked, looking at it.

"It's Skeleton King's Droid TV Monster!" Chiro confirmed, "The Probe must have picked it up along the way."

They didn't notice the screen on the droid flicker to life, if only for a few seconds.

Not too long afterwords, they were flying through a computer room towards a colossal orb, possibly the actual computer of the Probe.

"Allow me to clarify as to why you are here," VX-808 said as they approached a screen on the large computer, "I am the last survivor of an advanced race of mechanical life."

"You mean, your people are all machines?" Otto asked.

"Correct," VX confirmed, "_Were_ machines. We're no longer. An undead entity from your world has destroyed our planet."

"Skeleton King..." Antauri muttered, "We were tracking him down when you intercepted us."

"As I am now intercepting everything that comes from Shuggazoom," VX continued, "And neutralizing it."

The Monkey Team were wide eyed in shock. Did he just say..._NEUTRALIZE?_

"But we're after Skeleton King, too!" Chiro exclaimed.

"All organic life that has come into Skeleton King is corrupt," VX explained, "And as such, it must be _eliminated_."

Clamps shot out of the walls and grabbed the Super Robot by the arms. As it struggled, two more clamps shot out and grabbed it by the legs. Chiro looked at the rest of the Monkey Team.

"Everyone to their posts!" He ordered, "Hyerforce go!"

The monkeys rushed to their respective elevators and went to their vehicles/appendages. The Robot entered combat mode.

"Full power team!" Chiro ordered, still wincing at the feeling of the jack entering his data port, "Let's get out of here!"

The Robot tore out of the constraints on its arms, only to be threatened by several more clamps.

"Firing eye beams!" Antauri called, activating the machine's optical lasers. It took down several of the tentacle-like clamps, but it was then attacked by the same devices originating from VX's brain.

As they swerved, dodging the restraints, Chiro called out an order, "Aim for the computer brain! Launch mega missiles now!" The Super Robot turned and fired a wall of missiles from its arms at the approaching metal tentacles, destroying every target except for the brain.

"This robe thing is too powerful!" Nova called out.

Finally, four electrified restraints grabbed the Robot by its wrists and ankles. They tensed to prevent any further escape.

"It's got us!" Otto cried out, "Can't... break free...!"

As the Super Robot was moved directly into VX's line of vision, the AI's eyes began to look odd.

"It's hacking our controls!" Gibson analyzed. As the Robot began to overload, Antauri had an idea.

"Switch into vehicle mode, team!" He ordered.

"No can do..." Sprx replied, "That machine's overriding our systems! We're toast!"

As the Robot was forced into submission, a magnetic grip rose up and attached to the center of the chest plate. Then, a drill from inside the grip cut a small hole in the Robot. Tentacles then entered through the new entrance and grabbed the Hyperforce. They were roughly pulled out, and the Robot ripped apart.

"The Robot!" Otto cried.

The Hyperforce was then pulled down to a gigantic microscope. They were covered in some kind of gel-like substance and scanned.

"What are you doing?" Chiro demanded.

"Discerning what you are: flesh or machine," VX answered, going over the data, "Robotic simians are interesting, but virtually useless... You are to be disposed of." He paused over for a second over Chiro, then stopped over Antauri, "Interesting... You are organic, yet you lack any necessary organic systems. You have skin and internal organ systems, but your mind is completely mechanical... A curiosity."

"Wait," Nova said, "Did you say 'disposed of' earlier?"

The gel-like substance evaporated away and the floor opened up beneath them. The Hyperforce fell into the dark pit. As they fell, two large clamps came down and snatched Chiro and Antauri. They were pulled back up into the odd laboratory.

"Monkey Team!" Antauri called as he was being pulled back.

"Guys!" Chiro called with him.

They were then held in the clamps. A screen greeted them with VX-808's face. He scanned Chiro first.

"You are the one they call Chiro, are you not?" He read the silver monkey's memories, "You are one hundred percent machine. You may be of some use to me." He then scanned Antauri, "And you are Antauri... The oddity..." He looked at the brain again, "You are ninety five point seven two eight percent machine. The only organic matter in your body is nothing but meaningless organ systems and skin. It will be disposed of eventually. But your mind, being one hundred percent mechanical, could be of some use to me as well."

"Antauri..." Chiro looked at the black monkey, "What's he talking about?"

* * *

"Chiro! Antauri!" Nova called as she fell. The four monkeys were all shouting as they fell to what seemed like their doom. However, there seemed to be an opening at the bottom of the pit/tube and they fell into a massive junk heap.

"Ugh..." Otto pinched his nose, "What's that smell?"

"Gross!" Nova climbed her way out of the sea of junk, "Where _are_ we?"

"It appears to be..." Gibson sniffed the air, "Some form of waste disposal unit."

"Oh great!" Nova threw her arms in the air, "We're gonna get trashed?"

"Not trashed," VX-808 said as a screen descended into the disposal room, "Recycled, into organic fuel. But please remain calm, I will assimilate your more _useful_ robotic parts."

"Heh," Sprx smirked, "I got something you can assimilate!" He used his magnets to toss a chunk of metal at the screen, "Ya freakin' Probe!" The metal did no damage.

"Indeed," VX responded, "Goodbye, flesh entities."

Otto tried to cut through a wall, but to no avail. He deactivated his saws and turned to the rest of the team, "This trash can's invulnerable! I can't cut through!"

"If only Chiro and Antauri were here..." Nova sighed.

"Hah!" Sprx scoffed, "Chiro's probably pals with that thing by now. And Antauri... Why did he take Antauri again?"

"The Probe said that Antauri's mind was completely mechanical..." Gibson thought, "I have a feeling that if Chiro has been assimilated by now, Antauri has as well."

Nova shivered at the thought and Otto lowered his head. Sprx began to feel guilty, "Well, knowing Antauri, he probably figured out a way to escape... Right?"

"I hope so..." Gibson muttered. He then lifted his head with new found courage, "We must get out of this place, or else we'll never know."

The four jumped when there a head shot out of a pile of junk. It was a robot. When it spotted the Hyperforce, it climbed its way out of the trash and made its way over to them as fast as its treads could carry it.

"At last!" It cried happily, "I have some company! Oh how I've missed conversation!"

"O...kay..." Sprx mumbled and looked at Nova. After all, Antauri did declare _her_ third in command.

"Hey," She greeted the small droid, "We need to get out of here. Would you happen to know a way out?"

"Indeed I do!" The machine answered gratuitously, "But you're not gonna like it." It gestured towards a giant shredder on the opposite wall with a wide mesh behind it. The Monkey Team's jaws dropped.

As it turned on, two blades spinning in opposite directions to ensure that whatever passed through it wouldn't come out in one piece, bits of junk began to move over to it. The small droid was pulled away from the Monkey Team and went through it. A loud scraping sound ensued. Outside, the little machine's head was miraculously intact.

"I'm free!" It exclaimed with a sense of victory, "FREE!"

Back inside the shredder room, the blades had reached their peak velocity, and junk was rapidly being disposed of. Gibson tried to destroy the blades by firing his beams at it. It only caused several orbs of energy to come flying back at them, just barely missing the team.

Sprx dodged an orb just in time, "Watch it, Gibson!"

"Sorry..." He rubbed his head.

"C'mon guys!" Nova called from higher 'ground'. The two bickering brothers just climbed up the mountain of junk to regroup.

* * *

Meanwhile, at the Probe's laboratory.

"Let us go!" Chiro tried to break out of the massive interface restraint.

"Struggling is futile," VX-808 said, "Your phasing abilities have been nullified. Your powers deactivated."

"Release our friends!" Antauri demanded, "Skeleton King is _our_ enemy as well!"

"Yeah!" Chiro agreed, "Haven't you heard the saying: The enemy of my enemy is my friend?"

"A pointless argument." VX disagreed.

"How is it pointless?" Chiro asked, struggling once again.

"Logic dictates that you will say anything to save your friends from destruction," The Probe explained, "And I must destroy _all_ organic life!"

"Don't you see?" Antauri said, "By destroying life, you're becoming what you hate the most: Skeleton King!"

"He's right!" Chiro agreed, "All you're doing is helping him!"

"Skeleton King?" The screen flickered, "SYSTEM ERROR! SYSTEM ERROR!"

"Wait..." Antauri figured out what was happening, "You're infected by some sort of virus! Your system is being corrupted by TV Monster!"

"Preposterous," VX denied the black monkey's words, "TV Monster has been deactivated. Observe."

A panel slid up and the limp (?) form of the Skeleton King Droid was suspended within Antauri and Chiro's line of sight.

"It _does_ look like it's deactivated..." Chiro seemed convinced.

"Don't fall for it, Chiro," Antauri said, "Something is very amiss, here."

VX-808's screen went fuzzy as the virus took hold, switching the graphic between the human face and Skeleton King's face. The black monkey's eyes widened as he learned how correct he was.

"No!" He called out to VX, "Can't you see? It still lives!"

"Machines do not live," The Probe denied, "We are simple servants of our programming," He moved both monkeys over to his brain, "Unfortunately, it appears that both of your programming has been severely flawed."

"What are you doing?" Antauri demanded. He and Chiro were dropped by the mechanical arm and clamped to stationary holders. Cables were then plugged into the interface restraints, making both monkeys cry out in pain.

"I am assimilating you into my core central processing unit," VX said, "Soon, your knowledge will be added to my own."

"A-Antau-ri!" Chiro cried, "Wh-what's..."

"Fight it Chiro!" The black monkey ordered, "Do not let him take your programming!"

Both monkeys cried out as VX's screen flickered again, the pixelated laugh of Skeleton King just barely audible over their screams.

* * *

In the waste disposal room, Nova, Otto, Sprx, and Gibson were running for dear life, resisting the pull of the shredder fan. Gibson, falling behind, tripped over a flying piece of debris. Nova ran back to grab him.

"Otto!" She called, "Try to get through to Antauri or Chiro!"

As they continued running, Otto tried both monkeys, but neither answered.

"I'm not getting anything!" He called back.

"Don't you get it?" Sprx asked, "They're gone! Antauri's probably rubbing elbows with the Probe! Judging by how he's been acting the last couple of days, he might have planned this all along!"

"How could you say that, Sprx?" Nova was shocked, "There was obviously something wrong with him, but he didn't turn on us. He _wouldn't_ turn on us!"

"Wait!" Otto stopped the brewing argument, "I'm getting a signal! But it's not from Antauri _or_ Chiro... Jumping Gigawatts! It's from the Super Robot!"

* * *

The Super Robot had gained consciousness. It pulled itself together and repaired the damage caused by what it had believed to be the most careless machine it had ever encountered.

Once together, it stood up, seeming to stretch as it did so.

* * *

"Fascinating," VX observed the Robot, "The machine had revitalized itself. Its programming must be quite advanced..."

Antauri put his pain aside, "Mark. My. Words. The Robot _will_ stop you!"

"I highly doubt it." VX replied darkly.

* * *

As the Super Robot went to move, it was surrounded by holo-screens with VX-808's face. It looked around at the screens.

"So," The Probe said, "You've discovered a will. Interesting... A will that will soon be broken!" The screens faded and the security systems activated. Drones dropped from pods in the ceiling and made their way to the Super Robot.

Size wise, these machines were no larger than a human, and only lightly armored. They fired at the Super Robot with powerful laser bursts, forcing it to activate its shields.

"You are more intelligent than I had anticipated." The Probe observed. The drones jumped up to fire at the head, the only part not covered by the shields. They all fired at once, knocking the Robot down.

"You are terminated, Robot." VX announced.

The Robot, not yet deactivated, opened a chute and released drones of its own. Blue and black metal orbs slightly larger than a robot monkey. They spun until they reached a velocity that they appeared as disks. They then fired laser rounds like machine guns, taking down every one of the Probe's drones in the surrounding area.

* * *

Back in the waste shredding room, Sprx and Otto had turned to banging on the walls with everything they had. They paused that the voice of the Probe.

"Organics," He announced, "Your machines are resisting me. Perhaps you should witness their defeat." A screen lowered, showing the Super Robot fighting the drones.

* * *

The Super Robot had gotten back up and was walking to a point it deemed necessary. As it walked, its own drones gunned down the enemy drones.

* * *

"I didn't even know the Super Robot had those things..." Otto said.

* * *

Now the drones were either on the defensive or just all out fleeing. It didn't matter though, as the Super Robot just gunned down every thing that moved. Everything from its drones to finger missiles to mega missiles, it was going to save its crew.

It stopped at what appeared to be a wall. But, appearances are deceiving. The colossal door opened.

"It is not over yet, machine!" The Probe declared.

A gigantic robot on wheels rolled in. It was easily over a hundred times larger than the Super Robot. As it came to a stop, it fired its own eye beam, cutting through all of the Super Robot's drones.

The Robot lifted its hands and fired massive flames from flamethrowers. The hot fire only licked the outside of the machine. The enemy robot moved forwards, the Super Robot jumping to attack its head. The Probe's giant droid needed only to smack it down.

As the Robot tried to get up, it was smacked into the air by the droid.

"Can you not understand, Robot?" VX asked, "Organic life was but an evolutionary set back!"

The droid approached the downed Super Robot. It's chest cavity opened up and it fired blue flames at it.

"Only mechanical existence matters!"

* * *

Antauri and Chiro fought with all of their might. It was no use, as their mental programming began to stream over VX-808.

"Observe," The Probe said, opening a screen, "Your friends will soon be nothing more than fuel and scrap metal!"

* * *

In the shredder room, the four monkeys found it futile to attempt escape.

"End of the line..." Sprx muttered.

"There is no need to fight for survival," VX said to them, "Your robot vessel is finished."

"No!" Otto shouted.

"And your mechanical companions will soon be assimilated!" The screen showed Antauri and Chiro. Chiro appeared to be unconscious, if not...

"I'm sorry, team..." Antauri mumbled weakly before more of his programming was accessed.

"Antauri!" Nova cried.

"Leave them alone!" Sprx shouted.

"Soon, they will be one with me!" The Probe exclaimed, "As will you all!" The screen receded back into the ceiling...

* * *

The Super Robot tried to get back onto its feet, but the enemy droid kept beating it down. Finally, the Robot's anger reached a fever pitch. Its back plate lifted up, but the Hyper Boosters weren't there, instead it appeared to be a compact cannon. The barrel extended in such a fashion that it was only a couple feet wide at the tip, which was only inches away from the enemy robot's face. The weapon resembled an artillery cannon. A large ball of energy gathered at the tip and fired in a brilliant explosion, destroying the enemy robot's head.

"...What...?" If he could feel honest emotion, VX would have been very surprised, "How is this possible?"

The cannon's barrel receded and the Robot switched to its boosters, shooting up to the massive droid. It stopped a falling smack as it caught the highly inflexible arm and ripped it clean off of the shoulder, tossing the appendage aside.

The Robot then flew at the droid's chest used its hand to tear straight through the metal. It pulled the power generator and crushed it in its hand. The Probe's giant machine fell to the ground, 'lifeless', so to speak.

A screen lowered behind the Robot, "You are _not_ a machine! The only logical explanation is... is... IMPOSSIBLE!"

The Super Robot punched the screen, destroying it. It then flew off to its intended destination.

* * *

Sprx turned to the others, "Gibson, I wanna take back all the mean things I've ever said about you... well, most of them anyway..." He looked at Nova, "And N-nova?"

"Yes Sprx?" She looked at him in a way he had never expected her to.

"I... I just have to say..." Her turned away as he noticed her begin to tear up, "I-I..."

He stopped when he heard the shredder slow to a stop. The whole wall seemed to shake as the ceiling was ripped off. The four monkeys looked up. They smiled gratefully as the Super Robot offered its hand.

"Boy!" Otto laughed, "Are we glad to see you!"

As the Robot opened its hand, Sprx took off with his rocket pack.

"Sprx!" Nova called after him, "Where are you going?"

* * *

"There must be a way to defeat your super robot..." VX looked at Chiro. Amazingly, Antauri had hung on this long. He was still fighting with everything he had, which was quite a bit. VX lifted Chiro's helmet, exposing his computerized brain, "The secret must reside in your mechanical brain. I will remove that secret!" A data reader lowered with a needle and entered one of the nodes in the brain.

"Let them go!" Sprx shouted as he zoomed over to Chiro first. Antauri could hang on a little longer, right? Sprx fired a gigantic arc of electricity at the restraints around Chiro. The energy transferred to the silver monkey and reactivated him.

Chiro burst out of the restraints, grabbing his helmet. He put it on his head and gave a smirk before disappearing. A large cut appeared on Antauri's restraints and the black monkey broke free, levitating in place. Chiro reappeared next to Antauri with his rocket pack activated. Both monkeys gave Sprx a thumbs up before...

"Interloper!" VX launched missiles at the red monkey, knocking him down to the web of cables below.

"Sprx!" Chiro called as Antauri dived down to grab the red monkey.

"SYSTEM CRASH IMMINENT!" VX cried, "SYSTEM CRASH IMMINENT!"

"C'mon guys!" Chiro called as Antauri picked up Sprx. They flew for the exit.

"There is no escape!" The Probe shouted, firing more rockets after them. He continued shouting "SYSTEM CRASH IMMINENT" as they approached the exit. A large metal hand blocked the missiles from the three monkeys.

With some difficulty on Chiro's end, he and Antauri phased into the Robot's control room. After Antauri laid Sprx on the ground, he and Chiro passed out. Antauri muttered before complete unconsciousness, "The Probe... is finished..."

"Don't worry guys," Otto assured them as he and Gibson caught the two, "We gotcha."

Outside, the Probe's computer brain was evacuating, disconnecting itself from the ship and flying out an emergency hatch.

"Uh oh..." Otto said as he noticed the control panel, "He set the ship to self destruct! We got four seconds until detonation!"

Without any commands, the Super Robot turned and flew out as fast as possible. As they approached the exit, Nova noticed something, "The explosion's gaining on us!"

"System shut down imminent!" Gibson warned, "The Robot's overheating!"

They made it out just as the front of the ship exploded. The rest followed soon afterwords. The explosion was so large that it nearly blasted the Robot across the Cosmos. Though they had dodged the explosion, a large chunk of debris hit the Super Robot in the back, sending them rolling forwards. The Robot restabilized itself in the new debris field and turned to leave as quickly as possible. It was as if the machine was eager to pursue its former goals.

* * *

As the Robot flew through the Cosmos, the Hyperforce had gathered in the computer room once again. Otto had several data cards in front of him, but he didn't seem to have a conclusion in mind.

"Well..." He began, "I've checked it from to to bottom. The Super Robot doesn't have _any_ protective programming. But there wasn't a _malfunction_, either."

After plugging a few data cards back into their slots, Gibson turned the green monkey, "I have to agree with you, Otto. The Super Robot never flew off course. It simply _knew_ that we were going in the wrong direction."

"What?" Nova asked, "How is that even possible?"

"Maybe Antauri was right," Chiro smiled, "Maybe the Super Robot _really_ is more than just a machine!"

Antauri nodded, "Life -even mechanical life- is always full of surprises."

"Alright!" Sprx smiled, "I'm gonna be the first to admit it! You were wrong, Gibson."

"_I_ was wrong?" Gibson asked incredulously, "But it was _you_ who said-" Sprx slapped his hand over Gibson's mouth.

"That machines _could_ have a soul!" Sprx finished his sentence, "And yep... you were wrong... Yep! Wrong!"

"And it's okay to be wrong, Sprx?" Antauri asked, bother he and Chiro glaring at the red monkey.

"Uh... once in a while..." Sprx meekly smiled.

Chiro looked around, "I wanna know more about the Super Robot. Like what makes it think? How is it alive? Does it know who created it?"

"All valid questions, Chiro." Antauri nodded, "And yet, when those questions are asked, you must also think about yourself."

They began to go about their normal business when Gibson approached Antauri, "Antauri, if you wouldn't mind... could you come down to my lab, later? I wish to examine your newer components."

Antauri sighed, the secret he had learned by himself had leaked out because of that Probe. The secret that made him feel... scared of himself. He nodded at Gibson, "Yes, I'd be glad to."

* * *

In the wreckage of the Probe ship, VX was trying to rebuild. The virus was still in his system, glitching him up every now and then. As his tentacles grabbed the TV Monster and pulled it in, the vile piece of machinery came to life. It allowed VX-808 to assimilate it. An odd phenomena occurred as the Probe brain fused with the Skeleton King Droid. They morphed to each other until a compromise was formed.

"New program activated," The machine said in Skeleton King's voice, "Trajectory locked. Mission objective: Hunt down and destroy the Hyerforce."

The new machine began to make its way to complete its singular mission...

* * *

"This is... Amazing!" Gibson smiled as he examined Antauri's 'brain', "And you're saying that your entire consciousness and memories were transferred to this brain within minutes?"

"I can understand your excitement, Gibson," Antauri sighed, "But this is unnecessary."

Currently, the black monkey was on an examination table, his helmet removed and new robotic brain exposed to any and all prying eyes. Everyone was in the lab, a little confused as to how this could have happened.

"Gibson?" Nova stepped forward, "About what happened the other night. Remember what I told you? Could this...?"

Gibson's face went straight, "Well... It could be possible that his cyberstatic nervous system wasn't calibrated for this brain. That would give him a form of idiopathic neuropathy that would make him completely numb."

"So he couldn't fell pain?" Sprx asked, "That's awesome!"

"He wouldn't be able to feel anything at all," Gibson said sternly, "He would only feel electrical shocks large enough to wake his nerves for a moment."

Antauri's eyes widened. Sometimes he _did_ wish that he were the smarter, but with intelligence came duties that he wouldn't wish to have. Now, he felt stupid for not anticipating this! For not thinking about the consequences of not telling anyone!

"Is there any way to fix this?" Antauri asked.

"Nothing to it," Gibson smiled, "Just stay still." His right hand became a multitool for a task in this field. He inserted a pin into the nodes of the brain, "Just a little tweak here..." He put a live wire into the central node, "Now, you're going to feel a little jolt..."

Antauri locked up as he felt what must have a hundred volts of electricity pass through his body. He was pretty sure that sparks were coming out of his tail. And, as quickly as the pain had come, it was gone. He felt a pinch on his shoulder as Gibson tested to see if it worked. The real pain began afterwords. At that moment, Antauri took a deep breath, entering his calm state and ignoring the pain. He turn to Gibson, "I think I would like to have my burns treated, now..."

The others smiled, Gibson preparing whatever he would need.

* * *

**I can't believe I wrote this in less than a day! It would have taken less time, but it was movie night tonight. I'm not sleeping for weeks, though. The Woman in Black is freaking terrifying! Even if the ending did suck...**

** Anyway, Stranded Seven is being written as of now. Look forward to it!**


	5. Author's Note

Readers,

I am sorry to say this, but I am taking a hiatus for an indefinite amount of time. Rest assured that I will update this story when that is done. I am in the process of getting my life back on track and am preparing for a career with the US Air Force. I am almost certain that I will be in the Delayed Enlistment Program, so I may even update once or twice during that time.

As for my status with Chapter Five (Stranded Seven), I have hit a wall about halfway through. I've considered making an OC or two to help, but it's hard to do that without making something akin to a Mary Sue with the current situation in the story. I can tell you that it will be similar to the previous chapter, as in Chiro isn't a bad mutha-shut-yo-mouth. Neither is Antauri or the Robot.

But I can tell you that the fifth chapter _is_ being written, just not NEARLY as fast as the previous four. And once again, I must apologize for my going on hiatus, but I need to devote my time to something a little more... productive in the category of money-making.

Thanks for reading and look forward to continuing just that,

~AnOddFan


End file.
